How to Grow Concord Grapes

• By Barbara Wibault

• The Concord grape, which gets its name from Concord, Massachusetts, is a marble sized fruit that fills you entire mouth with a burst of robust sweetness!

  Developed in 1849 by Ephraim Wales Bull, today more than 400,000 tons of Concord Grapes are produced each year. Although most are grown commercially.

  Prevent disappointment, choose your variety with care

  The Concord variety is just one of many cultivars grown in the flower and fruit gardens around the country.
  
  And there are many, so it is important to check out what outcome you're after. If you only want their decorative appearance go for an easy sweet variety. If home made wine is your intention the Concord is a good choice, but do check local conditions to see where the optimum lies.
  
  The choices are many. Grapes are green, red, purple, or black. Some have seeds; some do not. Some do separate easily from the fruit (slip-skin) and some do not. Some are best for table use, some are best preserved in jellies or jams, some are grown especially for wine making, and some (like the Concord Grape) are multi-purpose.

  
  
  One thing all grapes have in common is the way they grow. Plant in early spring after the frost leaves the ground in thoroughly tilled, weeded, and composted soil. Pre-conditioning of the soil makes it rich in organic matter, yet provides good drainage. Composting and good soil structure are important.
  
  In addition to growing in your garden, grape vines are a beautiful ornamental and valuable as shade or screen plants around your flower and fruit garden. And when trained on a trellis or arbor they give that exotic atmosphere we love to see. Grapes love full sun and will produce best if planted on the south slope of your garden.
  
  It typically takes three years to establish a grape planting, but once established, one arbor will produce up to 40 years, a single vine producing up to 20 pounds of grapes per year! So as every wine grower can tell you its an investment that will take some time but the payoff is huge. Off course proper care for the plant has to be taken.
  
  Pruning your Grape Vines
  
  The most difficult part of growing grapes is the hefty amount of pruning required. When pruning, keep in mind that the current seasons growth produces fruit from last seasons wood. Too heavy pruning results in an abundance of foliage, but very little fruit. Too light pruning results in large yields of poor quality fruit. Balance is the key to everything, but very important in this business. Their are no hard and fast rules for pruning it's a matter of learning by doing.
  
  Depending on your location, prune grapevines once during winter. However, this can be tricky because you should neither prune vines when sap begins to rise until leaves are fully developed nor during periods of severe frost.
  
  Grapes grow new shoots from early spring blossoms. If left unattended, these shoots will transform your grapevine into an unproductive and unruly problem. Remove all weak, thin shoots and leave only the strongest shoot to develop. Flowers from this shoot precede the development of fruit.

  Keep the beds clean and tidy
  
  You want the plant to have the maximum space to grow. So keep the space where you keep your Grape Vines clean of weeds and other plants.
  Prune shoots back to the third or fourth leaf after the fruits. Remove any new growth. Also remove all leaves from around growing clusters to get maximum sun.
  
  Grapes change color long before they are ripe. To avoid picking clusters before they reach their peak, taste the them first. If they aren't ripe, wait for them to develop. Some fruits improve after they have been harvested, grapes don't.
  
  To conclude this little introduction about growing the Concord Grape, their are a few rules and room for a lot of creativity. Wine growers pass on this information from father to son. And we, well we have to see what works for us. And share our ideas with other growers.
  

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